Fall Wild Pony Roundup 2014

Three wild pony roundups occur each year: the July Pony Penning Round Up and two others in the spring and fall. These latter two roundups are conducted for the purpose of an an overall health check on the 130 or so wild horses on Assateague Island, including any of this year’s new foals.

The Fall Wild Pony Roundup is scheduled to take place on a Friday afternoon, Oct 10th, and Saturday morning, Oct 11th.

Friday afternoon is the southern herd’s big day and the cowboys will round them up and corral them into the south pen on Assateague near the road going out to the beach. The roundup takes a few hours and the area has ample parking, so this is a great opportunity to see Assateague’s famous wild ponies up close.

Saturday morning, the focus turns to the northern herd, which takes a lot longer as this is larger group of wild horses with more land to spread out in. As it is a three-mile hike up the service road to the northern herd’s penning area (not to mention the three-mile return hike), this part of the Fall Wild Pony Roundup is not as heavily attended as Friday’s.

Once the vet has had a chance to give all the ponies in both pens a good once-over, including inoculations, they’re released back into the wild until the next round up.

Chincoteague Lodging for the Fall Wild Pony Roundup
The Fall Wild Pony Roundup has grown in popularity in recent years. While it attracts smaller crowds than the annual Wild Pony Swim, several thousand people still usually show up for the event – so, if you plan on attending, you should probably book now while there are still rooms available.

Many folks schedule their Chincoteague Island getaway specifically to see the ponies but Autumn is a wonderful time to visit Assateague and Chincoteague, regardless: Summer crowds have dissipated and the weather is still lovely. We look forward to seeing you!